Policy Review ECNU Review of Education 2021, Vol. 4(1) 210–221 The Greater Bay Area (GBA) ª The Author(s) 2020 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions Development Strategy and Its DOI: 10.1177/2096531120964466 Relevance to Higher Education journals.sagepub.com/home/roe Ailei Xie (谢爱磊) Guangzhou University Gerard A. Postiglione The University of Hong Kong Qian Huang (黄倩) The University of Hong Kong Abstract Purpose: This article provides a policy review of the Greater Bay Area (GBA) development strategies and their relevance to higher education. Design/Approach/Methods: This article reviews key GBA policies adopted by the central government of China and interprets higher education cooperation policies at provincial and national levels before discussing the opportunities and challenges for higher education. Findings: The GBA Development Strategy aims to build an integrated, innovative, and inter- nationalized economy. It presents an opportunity for universities to attract new funding opportunities as well as to prepare graduates to play a key role in the GBA. The shift toward a high-tech service-led economy would hinge upon creating an effective partnerships platform between industry and higher education institutions. To do so would require greater institutional and professional autonomy for the academic research enterprises. There is also a need for evidence-based policies by the Central and GBA regional governments. Corresponding author: Xie Ailei, School of Education, Guangzhou University, Rm 415, Wenqing Building, Guangzhou 510006, China. Email: [email protected] Creative Commons Non Commercial CC BY-NC: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage). Xie et al. 211 Originality/Value: The article examines the state of the relationship between GBA strategies and higher education cooperation. It can be used to guide policies to promote higher education cooperation in the GBA in a more integrated, innovative, and internationalized way. Keywords China, Greater Bay Area, higher education Date received: 27 February 2020; accepted: 17 September 2020 Introduction The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) comprises the two Special Admin- istrative Regions (SARs) of Hong Kong and Macao and the nine municipalities of Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Huizhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen, and Zhaoqing in Guang- dong Province. It covers an area of 56,500 km2, with a resident population of more than 67.65 million. Because of its geographical location and economic significance in China’s social and economic landscape, the central government has initiated the GBA Development Strategy, which is China’s first official bay area regional development strategy that has risen to the national level (Chen, 2018). As with other important policy initiatives, the GBA Development Strategy starts with a general framework and will be enriched by additional policy measures. The policy frame- work is ambitious, dynamic, and subject to interpretation and negotiation by policy actors at different levels. This review introduces key GBA policies adopted by the central government and gauges their implications for higher education cooperation. It starts with an overview and an interpretation of strategical goals, followed by an analysis of current higher education collaboration in the GBA. Finally, it highlights future challenges and opportunities. The GBA Development Strategy, its policy origins, and the three “I”s The GBA Development Strategy aims to create a connected and unified bay area that is compa- rable to those world’s leading bay areas in San Francisco, New York, and Tokyo in terms of economic competitiveness and technique innovations. Yet, the Strategy itself does not start from scratch. It is the result of a series of policy reforms and evolvement that targets at the economic and social cohesion in the Pearl River Delta. The GBA Development Strategy originated from The Outline of the Pearl River Delta Reform and Development Plan (2008–2020) issued by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC, 2009). The Outline is the first time that the nine cities of the Pearl River Delta and Hong Kong and Macao were included together in one policy initiative. In March 2015, the concept of the GBA was first proposed in The Vision and 212 ECNU Review of Education 4(1) Action for Promoting the Construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road jointly issued by the NDRC, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Commerce (Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China [MCPRC], 2015). In March 2016, the concept of GBA appeared again in the 13th Five-Year Plan for National Eco- nomic and Social Development of the People’s Republic of China (State Council of the People’s Republic of China [State Counci], 2016). Then, the GBA concept was included in the report of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in October 2017 and in the Government Work Report delivered by Premier Li Keqiang (March, 2018), which signified its rising, as a policy initiative, to the national level. In 2017, Framework Agreement on Deepening Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Cooperation in the Development of the Greater Bay Area was signed (NDRC, July 2017). In February 2019, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council released the Outline Development Plan for Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, which is to guide the GBA’s development ahead to the year 2035 (State Council, 2019). The policy framework finally came into shape. The GBA Development Strategy represents China’s regional approach to develop its economy and is a part of its overall regional coordinated development strategy. Other regional development strategies include the Belt and Road Initiative, Jing-Jin-Ji Coordinated Development Initiative, the Yangtze River Economic Belt, as well as the Yangtze River Delta Regional Integration Strategy. All regional development strategies aim at achieving a high-quality development and narrowing regional gaps by joint collaborations between different areas (State Council, 2018). Yet, each strategy is also different in terms of approaches and pillars because of their own geographic locations and economic structure. GBA progress is supported by a triple “I” helix strategy of integration, innovation, and internationalization. Integration The policy initiative aims to promote China’s two Special Administration Regions’ economic and cultural integration with the Chinese mainland under the “one country, two systems” framework. Deeper cooperation for Hong Kong, Macao, and the mainland will be mutually beneficial. As noted by Xi (2017) in the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China: “We will give priority to the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, cooperation between Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao, and regional cooperation in the pan-Pearl River Delta, thus fully advancing mutually beneficial cooperation between the mainland and the two regions.” It will leverage the advantages of Hong Kong and Macao, support their development, and bring prosperity to China and the international community. Xie et al. 213 Innovation The policy initiative constitutes part of a nationwide regional development strategy framework to build an innovation economy. China will pursue a structural rebalancing from a labor intensive, low investment, export-oriented economy to a high-tech manufacturing, and service-based econ- omy that relies more on domestic consumption. The GBA is considered to be China’smost developed region with leading industries in the areas of manufacturing, financial services, and technological innovation which is key to its economic transition (Chen, 2018). It is no wonder that the GBA constitutes a new momentum for China’s economic growth, a new channel for it to be engaged with the global economy and thereby a new engine for China’s economic growth (Deloitte, 2018). Internationalization The GBA initiative serves as a catalyst for promoting China’s economic internationalization. The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China stressed that “Openness brings progress, while self-seclusion leaves one behind” as well as “We must actively participate in and promote economic globalization, develop an open economy of higher standards, and continue to increase China’s economic power and composite strength” (Xi, 2017). As Wang Yang (2018), the Vice Premier of the State Council, pointed out, it is necessary to deepen the openness of China’s coastal economy and promote the deep structural adjustment of China’s economy. A road map for opening up to the outside world in the coming period was drawn and a series of new tasks and new initiatives are planned (Xi, 2017). Among them are the Belt and Road Initiative and the optimiza- tion for an open regional layout. As the most open region to the outside world, the Greater Bay Area has an advantage in global economic positioning. As expected, it will play a key role in the Belt and Road Initiative and shoulder the responsibility of piloting more reforms to help China internationalize its economy. Higher education collaborations under “one country, two systems” The GBA has over 170 higher education institutions with a student population of more than 2 million. In addition, according to the 2021 QS world ranking, the GBA has five universities ranked among top 100 in the world (QS Ranking, 2021). The GBA colleges and universities will provide high-level human resources and become an engine for technical innovation. However, most higher education institutions are geographically concentrated in Guangzhou and Hong Kong. Their capacity to serve the GBA in an integrated way is a matter of concern. Another issue for stakeholders is that all five QS world ranked universities are located in Hong Kong.